Principles of Sociology Practice Questions
Course Introduction
Principles of Sociology explores the foundational concepts, theories, and methods used to understand the structure and dynamics of human society. The course examines core topics such as culture, socialization, social institutions, group behavior, deviance, and social change, providing students with analytical tools to critically assess how individuals and groups interact within various social contexts. Through case studies, discussions, and empirical research, students gain insight into the ways social forces shape identities, relationships, and societal outcomes both locally and globally.
Recommended Textbook
You May Ask Yourself An Introduction to Thinking Like a Sociologist Core 4th Edition by Dalton Conley
Available Study Resources on Quizplus
18 Chapters
1556 Verified Questions
1556 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/study-set/444 Page 2
Chapter 1: The Sociological Imagination: An Introduction
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
93 Verified Questions
93 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/7866
Sample Questions
Q1) Postmodern sociologists argue that all so-called objective phenomena are open to debate because all meaning is subjective.Thus,to postmodernists,all "facts" are really:
A) social constructs.
B) myths.
C) lies.
D) propaganda.
Answer: A
Q2) A female manager is attempting to climb her way to the top of the corporate ladder.She works as hard,if not harder,than her male colleagues,but nothing she does seems to help her advance.She begins to notice a pattern: men are often promoted,but women are often overlooked for advancement.The realization that many women in her circumstance are experiencing the same discrimination is an example of:
A) anomie.
B) Verstehen.
C) sociological imagination.
D) social cohesion.
Answer: C
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 3
Chapter 2: Methods
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
97 Verified Questions
97 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/7867
Sample Questions
Q1) Andy hypothesized that the stress created during economic downturns would increase the probability of spousal abuse.Stress would be considered the ____________ variable,and spousal abuse would be considered the ____________ variable.
A) dependent; independent
B) key; affected
C) moderating; dependent
D) independent; dependent
Answer: D
Q2) A(n)____________ is an in-depth look at a specific phenomenon or situation in a particular social setting and is common in qualitative research.
A) experiment
B) case study
C) survey
D) participant observation
Answer: B
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
4
Chapter 3: Culture and Media
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
80 Verified Questions
80 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/7868
Sample Questions
Q1) An example of material culture is:
A) values.
B) money.
C) norms.
D) behavior.
Answer: B
Q2) In the United States,six major companies,including Disney and Time Warner,own slightly more than ____________ percent of the media.
A) 30
B) 60
C) 75
D) 90
Answer: D
Q3) Class mobility and equal opportunity have their roots in:
A) the feudal system in England, 600 years ago.
B) China from the 1700s.
C) the USSR of the 1950s.
D) the U.S. idea of the American Dream.
Answer: D
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Page 5
Chapter 4: Socialization and the Construction of Reality
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
88 Verified Questions
88 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/7869
Sample Questions
Q1) The final step in Mead's theory of socialization is the development of an internalized sense of the total expectations of others.This is known as the ____________ other.
A) socialized
B) first-person
C) generalized
D) significant
Q2) Define gender roles and give one example of a female gender role and one example of a male gender role in the United States.
Q3) Expectations that define appropriate or inappropriate behavior for the occupants of a particular status are called:
A) roles.
B) folkways.
C) identities.
D) simple norms.
Q4) List and give an example of each of the four main agents of socialization.
Q5) Define socialization and provide two examples of agents of socialization and why they are considered important in the socialization process.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
6
Chapter 5: Groups and Networks
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
88 Verified Questions
88 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/7870
Sample Questions
Q1) While a social network is ____________,a social tie ____________.
A) the relationship between two people; explains how two people know each other
B) how people stay in touch with each other; explains how people maintain their relationship
C) how two people know each other; is how two people maintain their relationship
D) the connections between people; is the way in which two people form bonds
Q2) Chapter 5,which explores interaction in groups,opens with a story about an Australian artist who creates a business importing and distributing food products and utilities from around the globe.Her business would not be possible without:
A) coffee.
B) social networks.
C) Web documentation.
D) a cell phone.
Q3) C.Wright Mills's term for interlocking directorates is which of the following?
A) the power elite
B) patriarchy
C) hierarchy
D) conflict of interest
Q4) Define social capital and give two examples of it.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 7
Chapter 6: Social Control and Deviance
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
86 Verified Questions
86 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/7871
Sample Questions
Q1) Picking your nose in public is an example of which type of deviance?
A) informal
B) formal
C) criminal
D) secondary
Q2) What is one difference between street crime and white-collar crime?
A) Street crime is more costly to the public than white-collar crime.
B) Street crime usually occurs in public; white-collar crime usually occurs in private.
C) More people are victimized by white-collar crime than by street crime.
D) Those committing white-collar crimes are more likely to be punished than those committing street crimes.
Q3) Charles is a 41-year-old man who recently got caught committing a crime after serving a long prison sentence.This is an example of:
A) specific deterrence.
B) general deterrence.
C) anomie.
D) recidivism.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 8
Chapter 7: Stratification
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
87 Verified Questions
87 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/7872
Sample Questions
Q1) An example of the ideology of equality of condition put into practice is:
A) segregation.
B) affirmative action.
C) health care.
D) slavery.
Q2) What is the term that refers to a form of wealth that can be stored for the future?
A) assets
B) equality
C) resources
D) stocks
Q3) In political speeches about the poor,those who are believed to deserve our assistance are termed the:
A) handicapped.
B) mentally challenged.
C) working poor.
D) nonworking poor.
Q4) The United States is stratified into levels describing individuals' socioeconomic status: upper class,middle class,working class,and poor.Describe each level.Why is the middle class so difficult to define?
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 9
Chapter 8: Gender
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
87 Verified Questions
87 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/7873
Sample Questions
Q1) Anthropologist Michelle Rosaldo believed women were usually lower in the stratification system because of their identification with:
A) children.
B) cooking.
C) lower-paying jobs.
D) domestic life.
Q2) Sociologist Cynthia Fuchs Epstein argues that deceptive distinctions are those sex differences that arise out of the roles individuals occupy,rather than from some innate force.Which of the following is NOT an example of deceptive distinctions?
A) a woman who is a nurse and behaves in nurturing and emotive ways
B) a man who is a Supreme Court judge and behaves in rational and restrained ways
C) a girl who is a cheerleader and acts unanimated and unenthusiastic
D) a boy who is a football player and acts fearless and bold
Q3) All of the following terms characterize essentialist thinking EXCEPT:
A) biologically determined.
B) natural or innate.
C) fixed and absolute.
D) fluid and ambiguous.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 9: Race
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
87 Verified Questions
87 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/7874
Sample Questions
Q1) The Supreme Court's landmark 1954 decision in Brown v.Board of Education struck down what doctrine?
A) separate but equal
B) integration
C) segregation of churches
D) inequality in jobs
Q2) Which act formalized the exclusive definition of whiteness by imposing immigration restrictions based on a national origins quota system that limited the yearly number of immigrants from each country?
A) Ethnic Act of 1900
B) White Ethnic Act of 1876
C) Immigration Act of 1924
D) Race Act of 1850
Q3) The majority of the Latinos in the United States come from:
A) Puerto Rico.
B) Cuba.
C) Mexico.
D) the Dominican Republic.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 11
Chapter 10: Poverty
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
80 Verified Questions
80 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/7875
Sample Questions
Q1) Discuss the no effect paradigm and suggest how Marlin and his brother could have had a better life using this theory.
Q2) A family that cannot afford the basic necessities of life,or purchase enough to physically sustain its members,lives in:
A) material deprivation.
B) marginal poverty.
C) absolute poverty.
D) relative poverty.
Q3) The Moving to Opportunity study didn't show any change in which factors between the control and treatment groups?
A) test scores and truancy
B) injuries and asthma
C) employment and earnings
D) violence and health
Q4) What is one shortcoming of the current calculation of the poverty rate?
A) Its measure of wealth may be inaccurate.
B) It only focuses on income and ignores wealth.
C) There are currently no surveys to assess people's wealth.
D) It only focuses on wealth and ignores income.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 12
Chapter 11: Health and Society
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
88 Verified Questions
88 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/7876
Sample Questions
Q1) In 1980,the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)III:
A) included social factors in the diagnosis of mental illness.
B) adopted a medical model of mental illness.
C) made a sharp distinction between normal and abnormal behavior.
D) defined the social construction of mental illness.
Q2) In the 1950s,Talcott Parsons created the concept of the sick role.Define his concept and discuss how this concept would affect your treatment with regard to a mental illness.
Q3) Use of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)IV is now required by:
A) medical doctors.
B) psychiatrists.
C) the insurance industry.
D) psychologists.
Q4) One of the key traits of the medical profession is its focus on:
A) making money.
B) peers.
C) clients.
D) non-human animal behavior.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 13
Chapter 12: Family (in Core edition)
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
88 Verified Questions
88 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/7877
Sample Questions
Q1) In the 1960s many social scientists,including Daniel Patrick Moynihan,viewed the strong role held by women in many African American families as:
A) the inevitable result of poverty and discrimination that emasculated husbands and fathers.
B) a detrimental characteristic that undermined men's roles in the family and caused all sorts of social problems.
C) a positive characteristic that would eventually strengthen the African American family.
D) an anomaly that resulted from increased job opportunities for black women but not black men after World War II.
Q2) Which of the following characterized the preindustrial family?
A) Husbands and wives were partners, not only in making a home but also in making a living.
B) There were distinct differences between public and private spheres.
C) The division of labor between the sexes was substantial, as men worked the fields and women labored in the house.
D) The nuclear family was isolated from extended kin.
Q3) Define endogamy and exogamy as family forms and give an example of each.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
14
Chapter 13: Education
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
89 Verified Questions
89 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/7878
Sample Questions
Q1) If affirmative action programs were eliminated,which group would most likely see an increase in chances of admission to elite colleges and universities?
A) black students
B) female students
C) Hispanic students
D) Asian students
Q2) Which of the following is NOT an argument in support of the sorting function served by schools?
A) Students are sorted in ways that reproduce existing social inequalities.
B) Students can be taught different skills and socialized in ways consistent with their likely future plans.
C) Students can be tracked into different paths according to their abilities.
D) Students who are not adequate can be eliminated.
Q3) Explain how race and social class intersect to affect education outcomes.
Q4) When studies control for family background characteristics,the SAT:
A) becomes highly predictive of college success.
B) predicts college graduation rates.
C) no longer predicts college grades very well.
D) all of the above.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 15
Chapter 14: Capitalism and the Economy
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
87 Verified Questions
87 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/7879
Sample Questions
Q1) Some critics claim the Carlyle Group uses insider political knowledge,or ____________,to dominate heavily regulated markets.
A) government monopoly
B) political arbitrage
C) corporate oligopoly
D) political intrusion
Q2) Adam Smith argues that money is inherently social because:
A) it requires an employment relationship between an employer and employee.
B) it requires complex social and governmental institutions to ensure that markets work properly.
C) any and all economic exchange requires two partners.
D) economic activity involves cooperation and even collusion among many participants.
Q3) The service sector is considered the most important and recent change in the American economy.Discuss this change along with the development of globalization.
Q4) According to Hochschild,Jacobs,and Gerson,why don't workers take advantage of family-friendly policies?
Q5) Corporations have what is called limited liability.What does this mean?
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 16
Chapter 15: Authority and the State
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
93 Verified Questions
93 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/7880
Sample Questions
Q1) The paradox of authority means that as soon as a state uses force to enforce its rules,legitimate authority is lost because:
A) people aren't listening.
B) people are living in fear.
C) people lose faith.
D) the force becomes more important than the state.
Q2) A prominent British economist postulated that government intervention,in the form of social expenditures,could pull the economy out of a recession by stimulating demand for products and services.This is referred to as:
A) Keynesian economics.
B) welfare.
C) social services.
D) economic recession.
Q3) What term,as defined by the textbook,refers to the ability to carry out one's own will despite resistance?
A) domination
B) control
C) authority
D) power
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Page 17
Chapter 16: Religion
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
86 Verified Questions
86 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/7881
Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following statements is LEAST likely to be made by a sociologist?
A) Religious beliefs and practices are a method of social organization.
B) Only monotheistic religions are real religions.
C) Religion is a powerful mechanism of social control.
D) Religion can be a conservative force that prevents groups of people from recognizing their oppression and subordination.
Q2) To understand the role of religion in people's lives and how individuals value and experience their faiths,which type of sociological approach should we adopt?
A) microsociology
B) mesosociology
C) macrosociology
D) all of the above
Q3) Christianity is considered a(n)____________ religion.
A) animistic
B) ethicalistic
C) pluralistic
D) theistic
Q4) Religion in the United States has been found to be more broad than deep.Explain.
Q5) What is the sect-church cycle? How can this help us understand social change?
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 18
Chapter 17: Science, the Environment, and Society
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
69 Verified Questions
69 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/7882
Sample Questions
Q1) In Beck's description of risk society,a tornado is an example of what type of risk?
A) regional
B) external
C) environmental
D) social
Q2) Sometimes meat and poultry aren't labeled organic even though they come from free-range animals raised without growth hormones or antibiotics.This is because:
A) small farmers are moving into cities and leaving their organic farms behind.
B) the guidelines as to what is an organic farm have not yet been established by the government.
C) maintaining an organic farm with U.S. Department of Agriculture certification is expensive; many farmers can't comply because of this.
D) it is difficult to keep cattle and chickens fenced in; therefore, they could be contaminated by other animals.
Q3) What are the benefits and risks of genetically modified organisms? Do you think the benefits outweigh the risks?
Q4) Discuss the effects of global warming from a sociological perspective.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 19
Chapter 18: Collective Action, Social Movements, and Social Change
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
83 Verified Questions
83 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/7883
Sample Questions
Q1) You have identified yourself as a pet lover all your life,but your involvement with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)has come and gone,depending on your workload at the time.The fact that you love pets would be a ____________ identity,but your on-again,off-again involvement with the ASPCA would be a ____________ identity.
A) change; dynamic
B) static; dynamic
C) stable; dynamic
D) static; change
Q2) Discuss the theories of collective action: convergence theory,contagion theory,and emergent norm theory.
Q3) What was one of the largest American social movements that effected major social change?
A) the women's movement
B) the civil rights movement
C) the anti-Vietnam War movement
D) the abolition of slavery
Q4) What is a social movement? Describe the four types of social movements and give examples.
Page 20
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.